It was an odd pairing on paper. You had The Chainsmokers, the kings of frat-bro EDM who were fresh off the world-dominating (and polarizing) success of Closer, and Coldplay, a band that had spent two decades morphing from Britpop darlings into stadium-rock philosophers. When Something Just Like This dropped in early 2017, it felt like a collision of two totally different worlds. People expected a mess. Instead, they got a record-breaking juggernaut that still occupies prime real estate on every "Throwback" playlist today.
Most people don't realize how much this song actually changed the trajectory of both artists.
It wasn't just a catchy tune. It was a tactical masterclass in branding. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart needed to prove they weren't just a two-hit wonder fluke, and Chris Martin needed to prove that Coldplay could still breathe the same air as the Spotify-era titans. It worked. Honestly, it worked better than anyone expected. The lyric video alone shattered records, racking up over 9 million views in its first 24 hours. That's a lot of people curious about a song about superheroes.
The Myth of the "Safe" Collab
Why does Something Just Like This work when so many other high-profile collaborations fall flat? It’s because it leans into a very specific kind of vulnerability.
Look at the lyrics. Chris Martin isn't singing about being a god or a legend. He’s doing the exact opposite. He lists out the greats—Achilles and his gold, Hercules and his gifts, Spiderman’s control, and Batman with his fists—only to admit he doesn't fit into that lineup. It’s a song for the "average" person. That relatability is the secret sauce. While The Chainsmokers provided the high-gloss, side-chained synth drop that was the industry standard in 2017, Martin provided the soul.
The structure is actually quite weird if you listen closely.
Most EDM-pop crossovers of that era followed a rigid pattern: Verse, Pre-chorus, Build, Drop. This song does that, sure, but the transition into the drop feels more like a Coldplay bridge than a typical Vegas nightclub anthem. There is a warmth to the piano and the guitar work—elements often stripped out of electronic music—that keeps the song feeling "human" despite its heavy digital processing.
Breaking Down the Production
The track is built on a simple progression: G - A - Bm - D (or variations thereof). It’s the "hero’s journey" of chord progressions.
Drew Taggart has talked openly about how the song came together in a surprisingly short studio session. It wasn't overthought. Sometimes, the best pop songs are the ones that happen fast because they capture a specific, unrefined energy. The drop itself uses a layered supersaw synth that was everywhere in the late 2010s, but here, it’s mixed with a rhythmic pulsing that mimics a heartbeat. It’s effective. It’s loud. It’s designed to fill a stadium, which is exactly where both acts were spending most of their time.
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Why Critics Hated It (And Fans Loved It)
If you look back at the reviews from Pitchfork or Rolling Stone at the time, they weren't exactly kind. Critics accused the song of being "formulaic" or "derivative."
They weren't wrong, technically.
The drop in Something Just Like This is remarkably similar to the one in Roses. Like, suspiciously similar. But the music-buying public didn't care. There’s a massive gap between what a music critic looks for—innovation, subversion of tropes, complex textures—and what a listener wants during a morning commute or a workout. Listeners wanted a song that felt familiar but sounded big.
Music is often about memory association. For a whole generation, this song is tied to high school graduations, summer road trips, and the specific neon-soaked aesthetic of the mid-2010s. You can't critique that away. The song eventually went Diamond, a feat very few tracks ever achieve. That doesn't happen by accident or just through "clever marketing." It happens because the song resonates on a frequency that transcends "cool."
The Coldplay Influence
Chris Martin has this uncanny ability to make grand, sweeping statements feel like secrets whispered in your ear.
On this track, he’s the grounding force. Without him, Something Just Like This might have been just another loud EDM track that faded by the following winter. His vocal delivery—slightly breathy, earnest, and leaning into his head voice during the chorus—elevates the material. It gives The Chainsmokers a "prestige" they didn't have before.
It also marked a shift for Coldplay. They had already experimented with Avicii on A Sky Full of Stars, but this was a deeper dive into the world of American Top 40. It showed they were willing to play the game. They weren't just a "legacy act" yet; they were still competitors.
The Long-Tail Impact on the Industry
After this song blew up, we saw a massive influx of "Band x DJ" collaborations. Everyone wanted to capture that lightning in a bottle.
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- Zedd worked with Maren Morris.
- Marshmello teamed up with Bastille.
- Kygo collaborated with basically everyone from OneRepublic to Whitney Houston’s estate.
The Something Just Like This blueprint became the industry standard: take a respected vocalist with a recognizable "indie" or "rock" tone, put them over a clean, side-chained electronic beat, and write lyrics about universal, slightly melancholic themes.
But there’s a nuance here most people miss. Most of those subsequent songs felt like they were trying to sell you something. This track, despite its massive commercial success, felt like a genuine moment of mutual admiration between artists. When they performed it at the BRIT Awards, it didn't look like a corporate mandate. It looked like a party.
The Numbers Don't Lie
We have to talk about the sheer scale of this song’s success. It’s one of the most-streamed songs in the history of Spotify, currently sitting well north of 2.5 billion streams.
Think about that for a second.
That’s a staggering amount of consumption. It’s stayed in the "Global 200" charts for years after its release, which suggests a high level of "passive" listening—it’s the song that stays on the radio, the song that plays in the grocery store, the song that makes it onto the "All Out 2010s" playlists. It has become part of the furniture of modern life.
Technical Reality Check
While the song sounds "simple," the mix is actually quite complex. Getting a distorted synth lead to sit alongside a piano and a rock-style vocal without the whole thing sounding like mud is a nightmare for an engineer.
Jordan "DJ Swivel" Young, who mixed a lot of The Chainsmokers' hits, focused on "dynamic range" within a very compressed space. The song feels like it’s breathing because of how the drums side-chain the rest of the instruments. Every time the kick drum hits, everything else ducks out of the way for a split second. This creates that "pumping" sensation that makes you want to move. It’s a psychological trick as much as a musical one.
What This Song Means Now
Looking back from 2026, Something Just Like This feels like the end of an era. It was the peak of the "EDM-Pop" crossover before the industry shifted toward the moodier, trap-influenced sounds of Billie Eilish or the disco-revivalism of Dua Lipa.
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It represents a time when pop music was unashamedly big. It wasn't trying to be "lo-fi" or "aesthetic." It was trying to reach the back row of a stadium in Brazil.
For The Chainsmokers, it remains their most "prestige" moment. It proved they could write a song that lasted longer than a news cycle. For Coldplay, it was a reminder that they are the ultimate chameleons of the music world, able to adapt to any environment without losing their core identity.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener or Creator
If you're a musician or a creator looking at this track for inspiration, don't just copy the "drop." That sound is dated now. Instead, look at the emotional contrast.
- Pair opposites: Combine a high-energy production with a low-energy, vulnerable vocal. The friction between the two is where the magic happens.
- Use universal archetypes: Superheroes, myths, legends—these are "sticky" concepts because everyone knows them. You don't have to explain what a "Hercules" is.
- Focus on the "Human" element: Even in a digital track, include one "real" instrument that isn't perfectly on the grid. It gives the listener something to hold onto.
- Structure for the "Singalong": Notice how the pre-chorus "Oh, I want something just like this" is actually easier to sing than the chorus itself. It invites the audience in before the beat takes over.
Ultimately, the song succeeds because it admits a truth we all feel: we don't need to be extraordinary to be loved. We just need something "just like this." It’s a simple message wrapped in a massive, expensive, expertly produced package. And honestly? That's exactly what pop music is supposed to do.
To truly understand the impact of this track, listen to the "Tokyo Remix" or the live version from the Live in Buenos Aires album. You'll hear the crowd drown out the band. That isn't just "SEO" or "marketing"—that's a genuine connection that hasn't faded even a decade later. If you're building a playlist today, it’s worth revisiting the stems of this track to see how much of it is actually organic instrumentation versus digital synthesis. You might be surprised at how much "rock band" is still hidden in the mix.
Check your favorite streaming platform's "Credits" section for the song. You'll see names like Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, and Will Champion alongside the DJs. It was a true collaboration of a four-piece band and a production duo, which is why it sounds so much fuller than the average "feat." track.
Explore the live performances from 2017 to see how they translated a purely electronic "drop" into a live drum-and-guitar moment. It’s a masterclass in stage arrangement.
If you're studying pop history, this is the definitive bridge between the "EDM" craze of the early 2010s and the "Genre-less" streaming era that followed. It’s the moment the walls finally came down.